Landing fish through ice

[MACMAN]

This is what works for me- we always fish in a group, if one gets a big fish on, they call for help. The helper just cradles the fish as it comes out of the hole. If solo or too spread out, I like to fight the fish until I can get his head pointed up the hole. Then keep steady pressure and the fishes instinct to fight will swim him up on the ice. They don’t swim backward, so they will normally pop right out. The two things I would never do is allow someone to grab the line, or use grippers. This will give the fish leverage and throw the hook. Once on this ice, I just try to be quick. I normally try to find some soft snow to lay the fish on. For sure don’t let metal touch it. Those bump boards seem to work pretty well.
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